How a business can get the most out of lockdown with live captioning

Well, unfortunately, it looks like there’s a second lockdown on the way.

While rules are different across each member nation of the UK, the end result is the same; stay home if you can.

For millions that means working from home, with many people just beginning to return to work after the first lockdown.

But for businesses, it represents an opportunity to learn from their mistakes the first time round.

With Zoom meetings, Skype calls, and online conferences taking over the business world, it makes sense to get the most out of a bad situation by implementing live captioning.

Live captioning for businesses

As an employer, you are legally required to make “reasonable adjustments” to accommodate those with hearing difficulties.

Live captioning in the workplace provides equal access for employees, and thus complies with anti-discrimination laws.

But it’s not just for hard of hearing employees. Live captioning can help keep all staff members informed and involved with what’s going on, helping your business run like a well-oiled machine.

Even for staff members who miss an important meeting, transcripts are available to read back at a later date.

These transcripts can also help keep things black and white when it comes to who said what, in case there are some disagreements down the line.

Live captioning for employees

Working from home brings its own challenges, as many people found out during the first lockdown.

Online conference calls and one-to-one meetings feel very different when you’re at home compared to an office environment, and the more people involved with the call, the harder it is.

Live captioning helps people understand and participate fully in meetings, training, and seminars. More than 100 empirical studies document that captioning a video improves comprehension, attention, and memory of what’s being said.

Imagine being an employee working from home, and you have a speaker/microphone issue during a meeting.

Do you stop your boss/co-worker/client from talking and ask them to repeat what they said? Or do you plow on and hope it wasn’t an essential part of the conversation?

Live captioning can solve this problem in two ways.

One, you can read what’s being said, as people are saying it. And two, even if your internet connection fails and you miss the rest of the meeting, there’s a transcript available to read afterwards.

As an employee, live captioning makes you feel included, helps you to better comprehend and retain what’s being said, and is a safety net in case technology lets you down.

Live captioning for potential clients

Live captioning for potential clients is a huge boost to your business brand.

It not only helps with comprehension and understanding, but is particularly useful for those who speak English as a second language.

Other problems like noisy work environments, unreliable phones or laptops, or harsh accents can all be alleviated with the use of live captions.

A company that goes out of its way to accommodate new or potential clients is making a statement that they care and are willing to prove it.

If you would like to know more about live captioning services, then please don’t hesitate to contact us. Our friendly and experienced team will be happy to discuss your unique requirements.